A Big Finish

I thought the title appropriate, given this is a queen size quilt we are talking about.  This is the quilt that began las October when my sister was here for my daughter's wedding.  We went to the local quilt shop and she picked out fabric.  Then, the search for the perfect pattern.  She found this:

 In this magazine a quilt designed by Amanda Murphy.  My sister loved it.  I thought it was almost perfect.  I got a copy of the issue from Fat Quarter Shop.  I then proceeded to change it a bit.

I didn't want to do all the tiny square in the center, so I omitted them and just did 4 bigger squares.  It was still a lot of pieces to put together.  I finally got the piecing done and sent it off to a local quilter.  I told her what I wanted and gave her some free reign also.  This is what she came up with:

on my picnic table

sew pretty

can you see the quilting?

my label

all folded

here's a bit of the quilting

The other thing my sister asked for was pillow cases.  So here they are...

folded and ready to go

have you ever wondered what 400 inches of binding looks like?  It looks like this:

ironed

and rolled up, ready to go

being attached

Sorry for so many pictures, but my sister is anxious to see this.  It will go in the mail tomorrow.
Statistics:
Pattern: Box of Chocolates by Amanda Murphy
Fabrics: assorted (sorry I didn't keep track)
Backing: Moda grey Marbles
Quilting pattern: A Rose is a Rose-Simple Pantograph
Pieced by: Charlotte Maxwell
Quilted by Suzan deSerres-Singing Stitches Quilting Studio

Hope you love it sis!
Have a great Sunday

Heirlooms

I am a bit of a family history buff.  I am fascinated by the past as it relates to my family.  I love old photos and I grew up listening to my granny telling stories of her childhood.  As an adult, I have been pursuing family history.  I have been on Ancestry.com and made a family tree and I share everything I learn with my siblings.  So when my daughter's wedding brought my sister to the east coast and my brother and his wife south, they took some time to stop and talk to a couple of cousins we have had little contact with in the past couple of decades.  Busy lives and all... and they not only talked for 2 solid hours, they saw lots of family heirlooms.  Furniture and the like and yes, quilts and crochet work.

all crocheted by my great grandmother

this is on a queen size bed

beautiful design

the edges look like this

There were 6 of these I am told, one for each of the 6 sisters for their hope chests.  All were hand crocheted by my great grandmother and my grandmother and her 5 sisters.  This one is in perfect shape and is almost 100 years old in my estimation.
I was so excited to see this and to have it given to me.  But the other item was a quilt.  And with all the hexies on line right now this grandmother's flower garden is amazing!

this is the whole thing

look at the fabrics

love this one

the pink one is damaged

the binding is quite damaged too

I want to look at this a lot and maybe I will start making hexies.  My daughter wants me to and to recreate this quilt.  It is totally hand quilted and I am trying to decide if it is hand pieced or not.  It is hard to tell.  I don't know if I should have it restored or not.  I am out of my element here, so I am seeking advice.  But for now I am content to look and think about it.

So now, I need to create a new heirloom... for my sister.  She wants me to make her a quilt for her bed.  So while she was here, we went to the local quilt shop and she shopped for fabric.  I coached and helped, but I think she was happy with what she picked.  It is really her.  I am thinking of a modern quilt with a touch of heirloom.  Becaus some day 100 years from now it will be one.

Not the best pictures, but trust me, the colors are great and they will mesh beautifully.  I will keep you all posted as it progresses.
Have a great week.